


Bittersweet Nights

by Amaicha (amaicha1237)



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Breakfast, F/M, Fluff, Language Barrier, Nightmares, Oneshot, Post-Canon?, Pregnancy, Sleep, These babies deserve so much better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 01:17:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18355628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaicha1237/pseuds/Amaicha
Summary: Nights aren't always what you wish for. Sometimes, your fears haunt you even at the calmest times.A oneshot telling a story about Takumi, his pregnant wife Corrin, the nightmares that plague Takumi's sleep, and the aftermath of the situation.





	Bittersweet Nights

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is a oneshot I started back in 2016... I finally got around to polishing and finishing!
> 
> I'd like to clarify the universe first though. The story is set post-war, likely in Revelations. I like my Fates fanfiction with a bit of a language barrier, so there are 3 languages referred to in this oneshot- Hoshidan, Nohrian, and a border language. Hoshidan very closely resembles Japanese, while Nohrian is a mish-mash of European languages. The third language is a universal language that is often referred to as simply a border language. Those living at the border of Hoshido and Nohr likely learned this language at a young age, and royals such as Takumi and Corrin are required to know it for negotiations. Most of the dialogue, unless noted, is in this third language, given that Corrin and Takumi can both speak it fluently without much thought.
> 
> Is this all too important? Absolutely not. I felt like I should clarify though, so I did.

[Corrin]

I wake up in the middle of the night again, nestled against my husband as always.

With a frustrated sigh, I slowly sat up, keeping a hand on my growing stomach. Being six months pregnant, I could feel the baby moving, almost as if he or she had gotten annoyed at my sudden awakening. I scan the room to see if there was a reason I woke up, but none can be found. My head almost instantly falls back onto the pillow. I must have just woken up for no reason then.

Before I can drift back to sleep, Takumi sits straight up and screams, covering his ears. The piercing sound echoes throughout the small room, almost eerily, and my beloved archer quickly becomes restless.

Immediately sitting back up, I wrap in a warm embrace. "Shh... It's okay, it's just a bad dream..."

Takumi shakes his head, silver strands framing his face. Hoshidan mutters fall from his lips, in a jumbled way I can't decipher with my weak Hoshidan understanding. Since we typically speak in the border language, it's not a big issue.

"Do you wanna tell me...?" I ask, gently rubbing his back. Through his night clothes, I could feel many of the scars he had suffered, and my heart ached at the knowledge that many of them were my fault. At least, they were indirectly my fault. The prince deserved better. No, deserves better.

He doesn't respond to me directly. Instead, he just messes with the longer hair pieces, almost as if he was a scared child.

"Okay... Hey, you know it's okay, right?"

Takumi nods slightly but stays in the same state. Blank stare. Tired face. Unspeaking lips.

I get up carefully and go down the stairs to the kitchenette, claiming a small glass of water for Takumi. On my way back upstairs, I pick up one of his red ribbons and his hairbrush.

About the time I walk back in, the Hoshidan prince I love so dearly is sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall. His shoulder and chest are exposed by the falling fabric of the yukata he wears. I hand him the water and settle next to him, slowly getting to work on his next to unmanageable hair. I shift my weight so that my stomach remains in a comfortable position.

"Hey, Corrin?"

"Hmm?" The brush pauses, my hands stopping on instinct.

"I'm sorry if I scared you..." Takumi quietly says. He looks over at me, his sun-colored eyes staring into my ruby ones. Unfortunately, I can see that clouds seem to have gathered in his eyes, blocking the light that always shone within.

I smile, although my expression is bittersweet. "My love, it's alright," I reply, sighing. "And it's not your fault. Besides, if I couldn't put up with your nightmares, would I have agreed to marry you and have your child?"

Takumi faintly smiles, but quickly frowns again. "I guess you're right. Even so..." He trails off and sighs.

[Takumi]

Corrin continues to brush my hair, staying quiet and keeping an eye out for anyone who might have heard my screams. After all, Jakob and Felicia take turns on night duty, especially now that Felicia has gotten just a bit less clumsy than usual.

Every few minutes her head will fall to my shoulder, or she'll pause a moment and rest her hands on her stomach to feel our child's kicks.

"Hey, that's enough, love," I mutter quietly, a bit tired myself. "You need sleep too."

"No thank you," my princess replies. "I'd rather do this. I haven't had much sleep anyway with the kicks and the cravings, so I'm a little grateful to have an excuse to stay up. I'm not happy it includes your nightmares, but I enjoy the distraction." I vaguely recognize the sensation of a ribbon being tied around my hair, although with mildly amateur skills. Corrin keeps her hair down most of the time, so she hasn't learned how to tie a bow in hair yet. Nonetheless, the gesture makes me quite happy.

I smile very faintly. "Alright, love." She finishes tying off the ribbon and sighs. I can feel Corrin wrap her arms around me as she puts her chin on my shoulder.

"It'll be okay, Takumi," she whispers.

"I know... I think I'll lay down now."

"Okay." Corrin lays down before I do, her long, pale hair cascading in multiple directions on her pillow. I lay down beside her and hug her, a gentle hand on her stomach.

"Oyasumi, Corrin-chan."

A quiet Nohrian "good night" can be heard as Corrin sinks into my embrace and smiles faintly, drifting off to sleep.

I stay awake, my nightmares still haunting me, but I kiss Corrin's cheek and try to sleep anyway.

Of course, I don't manage to fall back to sleep. The events of my nightmare wouldn't stop replaying... Especially the part where my arrow flew directly into Corrin's heart... I continued to watch her fall to the ground over and over again, each time hurting my heart a little more.

Soon morning came, and sleep had still managed to escape me.

So I got up. My bare feet hit the cold ground, my yukata falling off of my shoulders as I sit up. Noticing this, I readjust the fabric and tie to keep my body from being overly exposed. The sound of feet dragging into the next room fills the air, although the feeling of walking has evaded me.

Corrin audibly stirs, but remains in the bed while I made my way to the kitchenette. I started to make tea and breakfast, with my body doing the familiar work for me as I stood there, my mind barren.

"Doing something, my lord?"

I jump a little and turn to the curt voice behind me. I look downward, trying to hide my tired eyes the best I can.

"Jakob. What's the matter?" I can hear my Hoshidan accent slipping through more than it usually does when speaking the border language... A surefire sign of my lack of rest.

"You're half-asleep, and you're doing my job."

"Sorry... I couldn't sleep at all, so I went ahead and got up and figured it would be better to be useful."

Jakob sighs and looks at his watch ever so quickly.

"I'll let you finish since it's Hoshidan-style tea and food."

"Thank you, Jakob. I know you only indulge me since I'm Corrin's husband, but I appreciate it nonetheless." I pause, muttering a few Hoshidan words to myself. "Would you do me a favor and help me to put the food on the kotatsu once it's done?"

"As you say," Jakob replies, an expression of minimal amusement on his face.

I pass by the window and look out at the white piling on the ground.

"Snow...?" I whisper in quiet Hoshidan, the sight filling me with a small wonder.

[Corrin]

The sound of voices and the flutters of tiny kicks awaken me gently. It's oddly calming for me. I slowly sit up and step out of the bed, feet sliding into my slippers. I make my way to the kitchen, being met with the smells of freshly made food. Hilariously, I'm bombarded with more kicks as the food becomes apparent to the little one.

I poke my head around the corner and see Jakob and Takumi sitting together at the kotatsu, a plethora of Hoshidan food laid out on the small table.

"Ah, Corrin!" Takumi looks up at me and smiles. "I was just about to wake you up. I went ahead and made breakfast." His accent is clear in his speech. He didn't sleep.

"You didn't have to, Takumi." I sit next to my prince and kiss his cheek. Quieter as to avoid Jakob's suspicion, I ask, "Did you ever get to sleep?"

Takumi pauses, a small tinge of disappointment passing over his face. "The nightmare took a toll on me... I couldn't go back to sleep."

"Love, you have to sleep."

"I know," the archer sleepily mutters.

"Ahem."

"Oh! Sorry, Jakob. Did you help with the food?"

"Just a little, my lady."

"Oh, thank you! I'm so glad you two could get along! And how did you guys know I was craving Hoshidan?"

Jakob shakes his head. "It was only my duty, milady. Anything for my liege."

Takumi perks up. "You said it last night in your sleep, although it took me a little bit of searching to understand the Nohrian. I'm surprised you slept through all of the kicking."

I smile. "You get used to it. Shall we eat?"

"Absolutely, love."

"I'll go ensure the house is properly cleaned, milady."

A quick blessing was said, then we ate the meal uneventfully. It was delicious though, and Takumi seemed to appreciate the quiet time.

"Did you enjoy it?" Takumi rests his head on my shoulder and puts his arm around my waist.

"Yes, a lot! Oh, what's the Hoshidan term..."

"Oishii...?"

"Yes! Oishii!"

"So glad..." A yawn escapes the prince. Within minutes, he falls asleep on my shoulder. I shake him a little, but he's out cold. He hasn't slept well in weeks, after all.

"Sleep tight, love."

Jakob walks in and sees Takumi resting on my shoulder.

"Would you like me to take him to the be-"

"This is fine, Jakob." I pause and push a small piece of hair behind my pointed ear. "I enjoy this."

The snow continues to fall outside as we stay where we are, peace finally befalling the archer.


End file.
